I Don't Know You Anymore
by Amara
Summary: A songfic to "I Don't Know You Anymore" by Savage Garden. Jake hasn't spoken to Cassie in the ten years since the war on Earth ended. He knows he's changed. The question is, how different is she? And has she forgiven him? PG for one itsy bitsy word


I Don't Know You Anymore

By Amara

_I would like to visit you for a while   
Get away and out of this city_

  
She answered on the third ring.   
"Hello?" Oh, that voice. It made his heart simply melt. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. _Idiot. Pull yourself together._ He tried again.   
"Hi, Cassie." _Oh, really intelligent._   
"Wh. . . who is this?" she demanded sharply. At that moment, Jake felt a pang of despair like nothing he'd ever felt before. _She doesn't know me. She always knew my voice. And now she doesn't. _It was like a slap in the face.   
"Cassie, it's Jake." 

  


_Maybe I shouldn't have called but someone had to be the first to break_

  
A pause, then "What do you want?" The coldness in her voice chilled him to the bone. _Well, of course. What did you expect after how you treated her? _   
"I. . .how are you?" _Talk about stupid. You know how she is. She's successful, famous, and loved. . ._   
"Right. Like you even care enough to listen." Did he care? He hadn't cared enough to even _try_ and understand her then, was anything different now?   
"Cassie. . ." _She still hasn't forgiven me. Why am I doing this? . . . Don't be an idiot. You know why. _"I want to see you." 

  
_We can go sit on your back porch   
Relax   
Talk about anything   
It don't matter_

  
"Why?" _ Ah, there's the killer question. . . Just get a grip on yourself and say it. _   
"Cass, I. . . I'm sorry. I. . . I don't know if that means anything to you or not, but I am. And I want to see you."   
Silence. _She'll say no. I know it. She hasn't forgiven me; she still hates me. _ "Fine. 3:00. If you can't make it, that's your problem, not mine." A click, and she was gone. Jake collapsed into a chair, immensely relieved. There was a possibility. . . A minute possibility. . . But still, a small chance. . .that she had. 

  
_I'll be courageous if you can pretend that you've forgiven me_

  
It had been so long. Ten years. _Too long, Jake. You've missed your chance._ He'd gone with the Andalites to fight the Yeerks. He couldn't leave them alone, he had to have his revenge. So he'd left. For too long. . . 

  
_Because I don't know you anymore   
I don't recognize this place_

  
Earth seemed so strange, after all the time in space. He had spent so much time on other planets, different worlds, that it barely seemed like home. And he'd left everyone behind. His family, the Animorphs, Cassie. . . 

  
_The picture frames have changed and so has your name_

  
His eyes drifted to the top of his bureau. Pictures. His mother, father, and brother. A group shot of the Animorphs. The Andalite crew on his ship, the _TigerPaw_. And more recently, shots of his friends' families. Rachel and Tobias with their children. Marco and his wife, Sandi. Cassie, her husband, and their twin girls, Annie and Alyssa Scott. _Yep, that's her name now. Get over it. She's married. You missed your chance. That ship has sailed. _

  
_We don't talk much anymore   
We keep running from the pain_

  
That phone call had been the first time that they had spoken in ten years, much less seen each other. She'd gotten on with her life. She was married, with children and a successful career. He on the other hand, hadn't. He blamed himself for letting her slip from his fingers. He should have at least tried to understand. But no, he couldn't be bothered. _And now you're alone._

  
_But what I wouldn't give to see your face again_

  
And it hurt so bad, knowing how close he could have been. . . 

  
_Springtime in the city_   
Always such relief from the winter freeze   
The snow was more lonely than cold if you know what I mean 

  
It had shocked him, how cold the Andalites were towards him. He got no respect from them; after all, he was just an "inferior human". Ten years, he'd been gone. Such a long time. _And yet, even longer when you're alone,_ he'd thought. Compared to space, Earth was so comforting. He'd made up his mind to never leave again. He knew what he wanted. But he couldn't have her. 

  
_Everyone's got an agenda   
Don't stop keep that chin up you'll be alright_

  
She had gone into veterinary medicine, written a bestselling book. She was always busy; it'd taken days to reach her over the phone. She was successful, because she'd stuck to her beliefs. 

  
_Can you believe what a year it's been   
Are you still the same?   
Has your opinion changed?_

  
The fight they had before he left was their worst ever. She tried so hard to make him understand how she felt, what she thought was right. She thought - she knew - that there were good Yeerks, that they weren't all like Visser Three. That there were more like Aftran, and they could be befriended. Jake wanted them dead. It was that simple. He thought Cassie was being too easily forgiving, that they should suffer for what they did to humans. _You were an idiot. A stubborn idiot. She wasn't trying to force you to agree with her, she just wanted you to see what she thought. But no, you couldn't accept the fact that someone else had a different opinion than you. _

  
_Because I don't know you anymore   
I don't recognize this place   
The picture frames have changed and so has your name_

  
She was a stranger to him now. All he knew was the Cassie from ten years ago. She was a different person now; that much was obvious. _How much did I hurt her, leaving the way I did?_

  
_We don't talk much anymore   
We keep running from these sentences   
But what I wouldn't give to see your face again_

  
All he wanted was to see her again. He wasn't going to beg for forgiveness. This ache in his heart. . . He needed to get rid of that. Then, maybe he could go on. But until then. . . 

  
_I know I let you down   
Again and again_

  
He knew better now. He realized how selfish he'd been, how his stubbornness must have annoyed her. But there was nothing he could do to change the past. 

  
_I know I never really treated you right   
I've paid the price   
I'm still paying for it every day_

  
The fight before he left was only an example of what their relationship had been. _Did I ever really listen to her?_ It was always her listening to him, comforting him. Telling him that everything was going to be okay. But she'd never talked to him, told him how she felt. _You idiot, Jake. She didn't think you'd listen. She was always listening to _your_ problems, and she was too kind to interrupt. _So she had kept her own feelings bottled up. And he never tried to understand. So he had no one to blame but himself. 

  
_So maybe I shouldn't have called   
Was it too soon to tell?_

  
You know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and just decide to do something? That's what happened to Jake. 

  
_Oh what the hell_   
It doesn't really matter 

  
After a year back on Earth, he still hadn't contacted Cassie. He kept thinking of the picture of her family that he had received through the Andalite military, and knew it would just put them both in an awkward situation. So he waited, until that morning, when he realized that he was only making it worse. 

  
_How do you redefine something that never really had a name?   
Has your opinion changed?_

  
Funny. When he called, she didn't seem like she'd been thrust into an awkward situation. She knew how she felt. She knew she was still angry, and her opinion of him hadn't changed one iota. 

  
_Because I dont know you anymore   
I don't recognize this place   
The picture frames have changed and so has your name_

  
He pulled in the driveway and stopped, staring. It was the same house she'd lived in all her life. The same one the Animorphs had met at for nearly every life-or-death mission. He'd spent nearly eight years of his life here. And yet, it looked so different. . . 

  
_We don't talk much anymore   
We keep running from the pain_

  
His heartbeat quickened as he stepped out of his car. Eleven years. So much changes in eleven years. He knew he was a different person, the question was, how different was she? He was about to find out. _No turning back now, Jake. No running away._

  
_But what I wouldn't give to see your face again_

  
Slowly, so slowly, he walked up the path to the door. . . and knocked. 

  
_I see your face_

  
The door opened, and Cassie looked at him, obviously trying not to show any any emotion. It may have been his own feelings, but he could have sworn he saw just the slightest hint of sadness in her eyes. His face, on the other hand, betrayed every emotion in his body. He stared back at her with an expression of sadness, relief, and hope.   
He stepped past her, into the house, and she quietly closed the door. 

  
_I see your face_

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


_Disclaimer- K.A.A. owns Jake and Cassie. Savage Garden owns the song, "I Don't Know You Anymore". The story belongs to me. _

A/N- I'd appreciate any reviews. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. 


End file.
